Jambalaya

I had some soy chorizo in my refrigerator, so Sunday afternoon I thought I'd try making some jambalaya (cause I love it).  This is how it went down...

Tunes:  Glee Season 1 Vol 1  (yes, yes, say what you like.  I don’t watch the show but I do enjoy the music… I can’t help it)

The Recipe:

2 TBSP olive oil

1½ red onions, chunked

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 green peppers, chunked

2 cups broth from seitan (or new low sodium vegetable broth)

1 zucchini, chunked

3 stalks celery, chunked

½ kabocha squash, un-peeled, chunked

½ tsp hot sauce

1 tsp cilantro base

1 cup canned whole tomatoes in basil, chopped, with juices

4 bay leaves

sea salt, to taste

½ tsp dried thyme

14 oz seitan (I made my own with half of a 10 oz box of Arrowhead Mills vital wheat gluten, cooked in 2 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth and 1½ cups of water), cut into small chunks, reserve cooking broth

12 oz pkg Soy Chorizo, casing removed, cut up (I used Trader Joe’s)

2 cups brown rice

5 large button mushrooms, small chunks

1 cup fresh basil leaves, whole or chopped

1.  Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic and peppers; sauté to brown, about 5 mins, stirring occasionally.

2.  In a Crock-pot, place broth, onion mixture, zucchini, celery, squash, hot sauce, cilantro base, tomatoes, bay leaves, sea salt, and thyme.  Cook on low for 1 hour.

3.  Add seitan, sausage, rice, mushrooms, and basil; cook for 1 hour.  Turn heat up and cook on High for 2½ hours.

4.  Remove bay leaves.  Enjoy!

 

The Issue:

I feel that the dish cooked too long.  The rice took longer then I anticipated, so by the time it was no longer crunchy, the vegetables were a little softer then I wanted.  On the plus side, it still tastes amazing!

Notes:

1 – I would layer into the Crock-pot differently:  Place broth, tomatoes and rice in the bottom, then add the rest of step 2’s ingredients on top of that.  Maybe try it on high right off the bat to try to cook the rice faster.  (Or layer it this way and let it be on low for a few hours so the vegetables cook slower but the rice is in the liquid so maybe things would cook more evenly.)

2 – Up until about a year ago I had never heard of kabocha squash.  Then a recipe I wanted to try called for it so I started looking for it.  I did find it, at Shop Rite, and picked one up.  I’ve been hooked ever since.  The beauty of this squash is that you can leave the rind on it and it tastes fantastic.

My jambalaya is a work in progress.